A suicide bomb tore through a mosque in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan today during the funeral of a Muslim cleric who spoke out against the Taliban.

The bomb killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens more, officials said. Mourners were crowded inside the Mullah Abdul Fayaz Mosque in Afghanistan's main southern city when the bomb went off. Nazir Ahmadzai, a doctor at Kandahar Hospital, said 20 people had been killed and 45 injured.

Many local leaders had been expected to attend the funeral of Mullah Abdul Fayaz, the top Muslim leader in the province, whom the mosque is named after.

Fayaz, a supporter of President Hamid Karzai, was shot dead on Sunday by suspected Taliban gunmen - a week after he led a call for people not to support the rebels.